


Picking Up the Pieces

by triangulumkel



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Transcendence AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-25
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-03-08 23:43:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3227945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/triangulumkel/pseuds/triangulumkel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series told from Paz’s point of view, detailing her life in Portland, and some appearances from other neglected characters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Few Questions, Zero Answers

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo I guess this is gonna be multichapter? There're some other events I want to fit in, and I really do have a plot in mind. I'll get to it later.

It had been three weeks since Pacifica had waved goodbye to Mabel. Three weeks since she'd started adjusting to this new lifestyle, in an apartment in Portland. Three weeks since she'd even attempted anything resembling proper hair treatment.

She was about to scream.

How could anyone live like this? Were all apartments this small? Even the Shack had been bigger than this! There wasn't even anything to wash her clothes in here! She'd had to spend actual money on getting her clothes cleaned. And recently money had started to mean a lot more to her. She supposed having less of something generally would make one appreciate it more.

But that wasn't the point! The point was that she was poor(er) now, and she was miserable.

Paz had to admit it; she hadn't thought that living on her own would be this difficult, or lonely. She'd never been on her own- not like this. Usually, even if she was the only one home- no, that wasn't home, and neither was the Pines' house. She drew in a shaky breath. This was home now.

Her phone alarm went off. Paz glanced at it and swore in words that she'd learned from Stanford. She was late for work (ugh) and she hadn't even brushed her hair yet. Not that there was any point, what with it looking like this. She'd have to pick up some dye on her way home later.

She groaned, then swept out the door, picking up her phone as she passed it. The door slammed behind her. She winced, hoping it hadn't broken, but it did make her feel a little bit better, even if it was a pointless gesture when there was no one to slam the door on.

Shit, it was way later than she'd thought. She was gonna have to run if she didn't want an hour long wait for the bus.  
Pacifica Northwest, former richest teenager, well, anywhere, took a deep breath, and then broke into a sprint.

\---

Fired. She'd been fired.

She stood outside the door of the diner, her hair practically glowing in the sunlight. The place was small, and really, she didn't think they could afford to spend time trying to replace her. What had she done that they were willing to risk it? She'd only been late a few times, and it's not like her boss wasn't human either! He made mistakes too, he ought to understand.

Maybe it had more to do with the group of pixies she'd served when he'd said not to, or that company of Pro-Nat enthusiasts who she- well, she didn't get a tip. The more Paz thought about it, the more she was sure this was the case.

She sighed. Well, she didn't really want to work for that asshole anyway.

Pacifica trudged down the street towards the Walgreens. She might as well pick up some hair dye while she was out.

The Walgreens was a dingy little place, empty except for a little girl in red who looked too young to be out without parents, a couple of pixies looking at nail polish, and oh shit that was Wendy Corduroy. What was she even doing in Portland? Wasn't she off somewhere in Scandinavia hunting down old gods?

Okay, Paz would be fine so long as Wendy didn't see her. Just look the other way, she told herself. The redhead was on the other side of the store, and the dye was just past the pixies. She could be in and out of here before Wendy was even finished looking at the cheap charms she was so carefully examining.

Paz slunk into the cosmetics aisle. There was her brand, her color, right at the front. Score one for Northwest luck, and for the luck bracelet Mabel had made her before she left. She quickly grabbed a bottle and ran to the checkout.

The teen ringing her items up was almost as slow as the plot of Dipper's attempts at writing. "Come on, come on," Paz mumbled to herself. It was rude to the cashier, but she'd had an awful day, and all she needed was-

"Oh, hey Pacifica!"

Shit.

Paz groaned, then turned around to face Wendy, switching on the Northwest "I'm in public and I want more money" charm.

"Wendy!" she said, trying to be the picture of friendliness. "I didn't know you were in town."

Wendy snorted. "You don't have to act nice, dude, I know you're not happy to see me."

Paz's facade dropped instantaneously. "Good, because I'm not."

"Wow, way to be polite," Wendy, said, grinning that smug, casual smile that got on Paz's nerves. Most of the time it didn't bother her, but on shit days like today, she just wanted to be left alone.

"Really though, why are you here? I thought you were off... adventuring. In Norway." Very, very, far from Portland.

Wendy stopped smiling. "How'd you know? I haven't talked to Mabel in weeks."

Paz glanced at the cashier, who was somehow still not done. "Dipper told me. I guess he keeps an eye on you? Demon knowledge or something."

Wendy frowned. Had she just shuddered? No, she was a calm person, she wouldn't. Paz was just tired.

"You know, I wish he wouldn't do that."

"Do what? Watch out for people close to him?" Paz snapped. Wendy looked surprised, and honestly Paz was just as surprised as her. Since when did she defend Dipper? And more than that, when did she stop calling him "Mabel's brother"?

"No, prying into my business," Wendy said, pulling herself together quickly. "I wasn't Skyping them or calling them because there isn't any reception where I was, but if I had wanted to, there are other ways to contact people. I didn't try because I didn't want them to know."

"And you didn't want them to know because?" Paz raised her eyebrow. Surely Wendy knew what the twins got up to these days. If Dipper had trusted Pacifica with this information, then he would've done the same with his former crush.

The cashier interrupted, "Excuse me, Miss, but I need your card."

Paz rolled her eyes, then handed them a twenty. So now they finish up, just when she'd been getting some useful information!

The cashier handed her the bag and her change, and motioned for Wendy to put her items on the table. She did, then said to Paz, "Not that I don't think they can handle it, but they've got their own thing going on with the cults. Rob and Tambry keep me up date with cult stuff this side of the puddle, so I know what they get up to. Probably more than you, even if you did get caught up in a few things. No, it's more like..." She paused for a moment, looking a little sad. "I don't want them worrying about my shit, you know? Someone told me once," she continued, facing Pacifica suddenly, "That I was going to see some things I didn't like, and that I was gonna get in a lot of tight squeezes. I don't know how many I can get out of. Everyone's luck runs out sometime." 

She looked down. Her hair formed a curtain in front of her face. Nearly whispering, she said, "I don't want them to know how I went."

And that was when the cashier asked Wendy for payment. The taller girl wiped her eyes quickly, and Paz pretended she hadn't seen anything. She had her cool vibe thing going on, and if anyone could appreciate a face in a jar, it was Pacifica Northwest.

She and Wendy walked outside together, exchanged a few last pleasantries, and then parted ways. Wendy had face to save, and Paz had some new things to think about.

She watched the red hair and green flannel turn the corner, then walked back to the bus stop, past the diner. Suddenly getting fired seemed like a lifetime ago. A lot of things did.

Pacifica sat down next to an elderly man with pointed ears. The next bus wasn't scheduled to arrive for another half hour, but that was fine. She could wait.

She had time, and plenty to think about.


	2. Some Walking, and Some News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paz gets some food and some unwanted attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter's a bit of a drag, but i promise, this is gonna pick up real quick

The buses were running late today. If this had been Gravity Falls, Pacifica would've said that it probably had something to do with a certain demon, or maybe the Manotaurs. Or the Corduroys. They had an innate ability to inconveniently cut down trees just so they fell on the road.

This was Portland, though. All of these events were extremely unlikely here. Paz found herself almost missing her hometown, until she mentally slapped herself. That wasn't home. This was, no matter how much it didn't feel like it.

She stretched her arms above her head and sighed. You can only mull over emotional revelations so long before it becomes totally boring. How many times had she done the whole homesick shtick? Was it ten today alone? Honestly, she needed a hobby.  
Paz pulled out her phone and flipped through her calendar. One class at 4 tomorrow, a Skype hangout with what Mabel called "The Girl Gang" at seven, and yep, absolutely nothing today. Might as well just walk home. In fact, that was exactly what she needed right now: a long walk by herself. Possibly a stop at a random coffee house, because she hadn't eaten for a few hours and could definitely use a pick-me-up.

She stood up swiftly, hair flaring out around her. The old man on the other end of the bench gave a little start. Paz chose not to comment on that. It was none of her business if he was too absorbed in his iPad to notice his surroundings.  
As she walked, Pacifica felt her heart growing lighter. So what if nothing had been going right lately? So what if she was lonely and a stranger in a place she'd be spending the next four years? She was a Northwest (kind of), and a Northwest made their own happiness.

And then her stomach growled and completely ruined the movie-worthy scene.

She decided that she should probably find some food.

\---

Ten minutes and three blocks later, she was staring into the grimy window of a strange little café in horrified disbelief. It was so crowded, so utterly filthy. The thought of actually eating here was disgusting, but the last three places she'd past had all had those little "No Preters Need Apply" signs underneath the ones advertising employment, and she'd be damned if she was going to support those kind of policies.

Pacifica took a shuddering breath and then pushed open the door. A draft hit her face, assaulting her with all those familiar coffeehouse smells. It reminded her of long hours spent learning how to talk to people without talking down to them, or about spending under a hundred dollars on an outfit. She smiled a little at the memories. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad after all? Food was food, no matter the quality. Besides, it looked cleaner inside.

There was a bit of a line, but Paz walked up to the counter anyway. It wasn't like she had anything else to do. The choices on the menu were diverse enough that she spent the wait trying to decide on something, but eventually her budget won out and she just got a plain muffin and espresso. The green girl behind the counter mumbled something about a bit of a wait, and there were no seats, so Pacifica wandered over to look at the odd little bulletin board that seemed to be a coffeehouse staple.

Most of the flyers were advertisements for work, or asking for charity. The usual sort of stuff. Pacifica glanced over them disinterestedly. One was placed smack dab in the middle of the board, bright purple, and demanding to be looked at. Paz obliged, then snorted. Comic Sans? Who even had that downloaded any more?

She decided to give the flyer a chance despite the poor graphic design choice, and was surprised to find that the information was actually interesting. Apparently there was another supernatural rights protest planned for seven two nights hence. Maybe, she thought, Mabel would be in town then? She'd ask tomorrow.

The barista called her name. (She'd actually been trying to get Paz's attention for a while, but Paz had kinda been zoning out. Just one more thing to deal with in this shitty service job.)

Paz made a note of the time and place on the flyer, then swiped her order from the counter and left. She'd find somewhere else to sit and eat.

There was a bench a few feet from the door, and Paz sat down on the end farthest from the café. She was just finishing her muffin when a large shadow loomed over her. "Hey there," the shadow said, almost purring. They had what had to be the oiliest voice Paz had ever heard. She nearly shuddered.

She finished her muffin before looking up. "Can I help you?" she snapped. The man in front of her was exactly as she'd imagined- dressed in grays, tweed, and those square glasses that had been fashionable four years ago. He even had an undercut.

The man seemed a little taken aback, but he recovered smoothly. "I was just wondering what someone like yourself was doing all alone in this sorta place. Mind if I take a seat?"

"Yes, actually, I do," she said, glaring at him. "I left that café to find some place to eat alone, and here I thought I'd been successful. If I'm running into people like you, I must really be in the wrong part of town." She stood up. "If that's all you wanted, then-"

The man held up a hand. "Wait!" He was starting to seriously look panicked. "No, I have something to tell you! Please don't leave, I'll be in so much trouble, and I really need- Look, you're Pacifica Northwest right? Girl in this picture?" He pulled out a newspaper from over a month ago, pointing to the front page spread. Paz's white hair was clearly visible, even with the somewhat grainy photograph quality.

Pacifica nodded slowly. There was no point in denying it.

He took a shaky breath, then started in on his explanation. "There's someone I owe a favor, and uh, they asked me... Well, it'd just be for the best if you didn't get too involved in this kinda stuff here."

Pacifica crossed her arms. "What kinda stuff? Protests? If you think I'm going to stop doing exactly what I want just because some hipster I just met told me to, then sweetheart, are you ever in need of some guidance!"

She was about to really start ripping into him, but the man just sighed. "I didn't think you would listen to me. Just... try to stay away, okay?"

"Can I at least ask why?"

"No, but uh," he paused, looking her up and down in a way that made Paz want to kick him in the gut very, very hard, "Maybe I can give you a hint?"

Her patience was running thin. "Shoot."

"There's a guy in town, who used to live in the same town as you. Your powerful friends - yeah, I know about them, and so does he - They didn't get along real well with him."

"That's supposed to be a clue?" Paz snorted. "The didn't get along with half of the people in town. Oh sure, everyone's all friendly now that those poor little kids can protect them, but back then? Half the town tried to sue them. Hell, I tried to sue them! More than once! You're gonna have to be more specific, dweeb, because that is just about the least helpful hint I've ever heard."

The man shifted uneasily and pulled at the collar of his shirt. "I- I can't, it's-" he stopped, choking.

Paz frowned. "Silence spells are so cheap. If you can't tell me anything else, I'll be leaving then. It was absolutely delightful to make your acquaintance."

She stepped around him and headed towards her apartment. It was a long walk, and she wanted to be as far from the greasy man as possible before dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> huehuehue guess who the enemy is (hint: it is v, v, obvious)

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I only have a vague idea of what I wanna do, so if you guys want to see anything, shoot me an ask on my Tumblr! My name's the same as on here B) brand recognition.


End file.
